Teachers from Egyptian schools have attended an Oracle education project aimed at teaching them database and IT skills they can pass on to students. The project, called Oracle Academy Institute, is a one-week course held at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA. It is a partnership between Oracle and secondary schools to teach 15- to 19-year-old students database, Java, SQL and other business and IT skills. Atef Helmy, Oracle’s managing director for Egypt, says, “The initiative demonstrates Oracle’s deep commitment to the successful development of IT in the region. Oracle is working closely with the government to ensure that a first-class business infrastructure exists, not only for today’s corporate leaders, but also tomorrow’s.” Teachers who wish to offer the Oracle Academy curriculum have to go through a period of training, culminating in the week-long course in California. The training includes regular quizzes and conference calls before the Institute, then a final project and exam at the end of the Institute itself. “Quality teacher training is critical to help educators incorporate technology into their broader curriculum. We deliver the Oracle Academy Institute using a high-touch, personalised approach that includes some of our very best Oracle instructors, a high-school friendly curriculum, and cutting-edge e-learning technology,” says Clare Dolan, vice president of Oracle's Academic Initiatives. The Egyptian ministries of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and Education signed a protocol with Oracle to offer the Oracle Academy to pupils from the country. This academic year 12 schools will take part: around 360 students will receive the training. The firm says it is also considering establishing a permanent academy in Egypt for the 2006/07 academic year. It would have the capacity to train up to 3000 students from 150 schools throughout the country.